Uprising
by marinefan123
Summary: In a dark, distant future, the gryphon kingdom of Candaria is one of the last remaining bastions of freedom remaining in Alagaesia. History seems to have repeated itself. The new Dragon Riders have been almost decimated by a dark new enemy who now threatens Candaria as well. Now, facing imminent war, the gryphon king ponders the situation. Oneshot.


_ "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." _- Thomas Jefferson

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The gryphons stood before a large window, overlooking the grand city of Illya, capital of the Gryphon Kingdom. From the top of the palace tower, he could see the entire city spread out before him like a great map. He was a regal creature, half eagle and half lion, with ginger feathers and tan fur. He stood taller than a horse and his piercing orange eyes stared off into the darkness that lay beyond the brightly lit city below.

_I am King Sickleclaw, the fourth gryphon to rule the kingdom of Candaria. For more than two hundred years, this young nation comprised of gryphons, humans, and dwarves has stood as a bastion of social and economical development. Our founder, Fireclaw, dreamed of his nation leading the world into a new era of progress and prosperity. However, we gryphons have long feared that the humans we sought to befriend would one day betray us. Well, the betrayal we have long feared has finally come, but not from the people we expected. _

The gryphon gave a sigh as he continued to stare into the night.

_We never really trusted the elves. They were a hindrance to us from the time Candaria came into existence. While the Dragon Riders were supportive of our kingdom, the elves thumbed their noses at us from the very beginning. You see, the elves live in an enchanted forest where they can simply sing away illnesses and injuries, alter their appearance and change the world around them to suit their needs. They have always looked down on the humans for lacking this ability. When my people began working with the humans to develop new technologies, our intention was to help the people of Candaria rise up out of darkness and into that era that our founders foresaw. But the elves… they were not enthusiastic about the idea of the new technology that we created. Things that the humans and gryphons both saw as a blessing, such as electric energy, advanced medicine, and a greater understanding of science and the world itself, made the elves feel threatened. The elves have actively prohibited the development of similar technologies elsewhere in the world. Perhaps they feel that our new inventions pose a threat to their superiority…_

As Sickleclaw continued to watch, several gryphons and a pair of dragons soared past his window, flying toward the edge of the city.

_For years, the elves have become increasingly hostile toward my people as well as the humans. They toppled the human government in Alagaesia two years ago. And then, when the Dragon Riders finally stepped in and tried to put a stop to it, the elves unleashed a secret weapon of their own. We don't know much about them, or even who they really are, but apparently the elves have been raising their own Dragon Riders who are trained to use dark forms of magic. From what I've heard, these "False Riders" do not share a true magical bond to their dragons like the traditional Riders. Rather, the elves forcibly bond themselves to newly hatched dragons upon hatching, often killing the parents to get the eggs. These False Riders soon revealed themselves, launching a devastating attack against the true Dragon Riders at Ilirea. Many of the Riders were slain by these imposters and the survivors have retreated to Candaria for shelter. _

Sickleclaw looked on as a fleet of massive airships flew past the palace tower, headed for the north.

_Since the beginning of time, Man has dreamed of joining the dragons and gryphons in the sky. Twenty years ago, using all our advances in science and technology, we built an elegant sky ship. She was called the 'Star of Candaria' and was our crowning achievement. We proudly paraded her all over the world to great fanfare. Tragically, after the False Riders revealed themselves, they ambushed the Star of Candaria and brought her down in flames, claiming that she was built as a weapon to use against the elves! What lies! Our sky ship was built to carry passengers! She was built for the purpose of explorations! It was at that point that I realized that there was no chance for a peaceful resolution, and so I decided to take action. Sadly, the technology that was originally developed for peaceful purposes would instead be used to develop new weapons the likes of which the world had never seen, to give us a fighting chance against the tyrannical elves and their fake Riders. _

Though Sickleclaw knew the situation was grim, the gryphon king was still optimistic.

_Needless to say, the elves have completely and thoroughly betrayed their pact with the dragons, and as a result, their ability to wield magic has been greatly diminished. This became evident during a recent border skirmish when a pair of my gryphons managed to bring down one of their False Riders. During that same battle, our human and dwarven magicians were able to overpower the elf mages and force them to retreat. Right now, the elves are amassing their army at Candaria's border and I know an attack is imminent. I am sending my army to meet them. True, the elves outnumber us, but with our now-superior magic, the support of the surviving dragons and Riders, and with our new weapons, I feel that we can win. While it breaks my heart that it has come to war, there is simply no other alternative. The gryphons and their allies will not allow themselves to be subjugated! The elves have become arrogant and power-hungry and it is time they be put back in their place. The tree of liberty has been looking a bit thirsty as of late. Perhaps it needs a drink… _

**Author's note: I don't know if I'm going to put this in the same continuity as my other gryphon stories or not. I doubt I'll actually continue this. I'm just going to leave it up to the reader to use their imagination. Anyway, I'm sick and tired of the elves always being portrayed as this perfect, flawless race that is somehow superior to everyone else. I'm sick of humans being the bad guys and I don't see why I should be expected to sympathize with elves, seeing as they're a bunch of stuck-up, condescending, arrogant hippies who thumb their noses at everyone else (except for dragons who they practically seem to worship). You'll notice that most of the elves in my stories are Dragon Riders. That's because in the Inheritance RPG I'm in (which many of my stories are based off of), elves that are Dragon Riders tend to be less obnoxious than regular elves due to the fact that they actually get out and see the world and experience life rather than spend their time singing to trees all day and looking down on everyone else. So yeah, the obnoxious elves need a butt-whooping bad. Also, I like the idea of someone actually developing technology because it really makes no sense that there is no technological development after thousands of years, unless the elves are actively discouraging it. **


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